Saturday, 23 February 2019

Young, pretty and successful, Twisha Khanna has it all. She works hard and has no time for frivolities like love. After all, being the creative head of a happening travel magazine is no joke.
So when she travels to Shimla on an assignment, the last thing on Twisha’s mind is love. But then, life has other plans. On finding a stack of old love letters that speak of an unrequited romance, Twisha is convinced that she must find the man who wrote these letters and help him.
Along the way, she meets spoilt rich boy Alex, who is everything she would NOT want in a man. As the two try to reunite the old lovers mentioned in the letters, they are hardly aware that how they feel about love and life is going to change forever.

For The Sake of Love is a romantic
novel written by Anamika Mishra & published by Westland Publishers. The
author is a blogger & nature enthusiast. Her love for cinema, photography,
science & dogs is clearly evident on her social channels. Born & raised
in Kanpur, she currently lives in Mumbai, though she is often on the go,
exploring places and seeking inspiration for her books and blogs.

The plot introduces our
protagonist Twisha Khanna, a young, beautiful & successful woman who is the
creative head of a travel magazine. She happens to travel to Shimla for an
assignment & stumbles across a bundle of old love letters which contains a
touching story which emboldens her to go on a journey to find the man who wrote
these letters. On the other hand our second protagonist is Alex, a handsome guy
who basically comes off as a brat. On her journey to find the person who wrote
the letter & to whom it was written, Twisha meets Alex & immediately
dislikes him as he contains all the attributes she doesn’t like in a man. But
will this change as they spend some time together? Get the book here to know,

The story starts with the contents
of some of the letters which inspired our protagonist to go on a hunt to find
the person who wrote it & the recipient. It cements the premise of the book
very well & from there we get to meet several characters of the story.
Twisha is career oriented woman who wants to succeed in her field, her
character has been etched well as well the development in her character has
been quite interesting to read but on the other hand, I can’t say the same for
Alex. It is a sweet romantic story which goes on a decent pace but I just
wanted a bit more depth from it. The language used is simple, the title goes
well with the story but the cover could’ve been better. Readers interested in
romantic novels shouldn’t miss this one.

Sunday, 17 February 2019

No one has made quite such an electrifying political debut in India in recent history. In March 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar the president of the JNU Students Union was arrested on charges of sedition, locked up in Tihar Jail and beaten up by lawyers in Patiala House court.

He came out of the crisis as a young political star, dubbed by the BBC as 'India's most loved and loathed student'. This is his story—from his childhood in rural Bihar, college days in Patna, to his political coming of age in Delhi. And it is told in his extraordinary voice—colourful, witty, eloquent, and raw.
From Bihar to Tihar is the story of a young political star in the making and a rare window into the lives of small town young Indians and their aspirations.

The story of Kanhaiya’s incredible journey from a village school, his deepening involvement in student politics, his controversial arrest on charges of sedition and its aftermath.

From Bihar To Tihar is the autobiography of Kanhaiya Kumar,
it has been translated by Vandana R. Singh & published by Juggernaut Books.
The author is an AISF activist & was the president of the JNU Student’s
Union 2015-16. He recently completed his PhD from the Centre for African
Studies at the School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi.

Kanhaiya Kumar came into limelight when he got arrested on
the charges of sedition along with some other charges & was locked up in
Tihar jail. In this book the author traces his life from his childhood which he
spent in rural Bihar, the challenges he faced coming from an economically
weaker family. His journey as a struggling civil service aspirant to going to
JNU & actively participating in student politics. But it doesn’t just end here, the author gives
a brief look into the system of our country & how it’s important for
citizens of the country to stay united no matter, surely something to look
forward. Get the book here,

I have followed the whole JNU
fiasco & tried to look beyond than what media was showing, I tried &
tried to find any speech let alone the ones Kanhaiya Kumar gave near that
specific time period but I couldn’t find any such speech of his which can
amount to sedition & that’s why I was excited to read this book. The book
gives a detailed description of the life of the author & how he came to be
who he is. The questions he put up in front of us are important as they aspires
the country to become an ideal one, the importance of doing your duty but also
critically questioning the government is something so elementary yet it needs
to be reminded to every single citizen as we have divided ourselves into
castes, class, regions & religions. The language used is simple, the title
is apt & the cover is accurate. A must read especially for the Indian
youth.

A tawaif is being interviewed – read her heart wrenching and hard-hitting realities as she opens up about what she has gone through and how she became ‘MeinaJaan’. A mother allows her rights to be discounted as she fears to confront the truth about an extramarital affair of her husband; she pays a hefty price for it. ‘The house of widows’ initially cannot welcome the arrival of a free bird in the nest but then something happens that appears to be dramatic flip in the entire scenario. Broken Bangles consists of these three short stories which leave a lot of things unsaid but also stirs up the readers as they silently demand to be heard.

It would be great if you can add this book to your TBR

She is pursuing her Masters in English Literature and this is her very first independent venture as an author.

Tuesday, 12 February 2019

Twenty years ago, a corrupt President, a greedy industrialist, and a sycophant policeman uprooted the tribal people from their own land and burned their houses. Twenty years later, the Republic of Bodh is in danger from a similar evil troika.

The curse uttered by a frail tribal woman during the carnage twenty years ago has inspired Jwaala, the only female leader in the Senate, to reform the Republic of Bodh.

But the same curse has turned Saaya, once an innocent victim of the massacre, into a relentless killing machine with a mission to prey on the predators.

Even when the Republic spirals into a storm of scandals, the greedy and corrupt President Chaupat is torn between his lust for a dancer and his unrequited passion for his wife Kaamini.

Will Saaya succeed in his mission or will Chaupat thwart his efforts?

Will Jwaala, orphaned in a violent attack, be able to turn the curse for the greedy into a blessing for the poor? Will she succeed to save the Republic from another ensuing bloodshed?

The Curse is a gritty political thriller about people who have lost much to greed but want to transform their nation.

"I am an independent content editor, columnist, radio script-writer and blogger. I was a columnist for The Tribune for about fifteen years; my columns – Punjabi Antenna, Write View, Short Takes and Channel Surfer – were quite popular. My articles also appeared in the Chandigarh editions of The Times of India, The Indian Express, the Haryana Review, and the SouthAsiaPost.com. My analytical articles on current affairs as well as various important social and national issues have featured in the op-ed columns of The Financial World, the Tehelka, and The Daily Post etc.

I did freelance scriptwriting for All India Radio, Chandigarh as well as its World Service. For instance, I have done a five-part series on Chandigarh for the All India Radio, which was broadcast on primetime. Scripts on Microfinance and India’s growth prospects were broadcast by the AIR World Service.

I write both fiction and non-fiction. I am a published author. A collection of my short stories Walls & Other Stories was published in 2004, and the other Rendezvous in Cyberia in 2017. Canada’s All Hallows magazine and the USA’s Espresso.com, fictionmagazines.com and IndianReview.in etc – the literary websites that pays its contributors — have published a couple of my short stories. In addition, I am translating a Hindi classic into English.

Some of my poems have been included in the anthology, The Silken Web, published by the Bangalore based publisher, Unisun, in 2007. The Beehive Press, London, included one of my poems in an anthology titled Earthly and Divine Love. My poems have also appeared in Femina, the Asian Age, Deccan Herald, the Chandigarh edition of The Times of India, and The Tribune. In May 2011, my poetry collection, Singing through the nightmare, was published by Ukay Publishing Co., and has been well received by critics and poetry lovers alike. My latest anthologies – My Beautiful World (Illustrated poems for children) and Rhythms of Love are available on Kindle, Amazon.Com and Pothi.Com.

One of the books edited by me, Evolution of Education in India: a historical perspective by Lacchman Dass Bhimbhat, was published in the first week of July 2011. Another book, an autobiography edited by me, Law, Lawyers & Lawmakers by Harbhagwan Singh was published in 2014. Both these books are available on Kindle and Amazon.com outlets.

Monday, 11 February 2019

An uncomfortable but fascinating ripening journey.
Ahmed has abandoned her. Nadia is gone the way Isabelle did before, her two fallen warriors. But Marie can still hear His voice clearly.
A deep call for justice takes hold in an impressionable teenage girl from a recently broken family during a religious retreat; what happens next will mark her life for years to come.
the Retreat is a story of men playing God, of hurt that doesn’t find its way out.

‘So, mass girl,’ Hélène is calling Marie. ‘We’re planning a night escape from this hell in a couple of days, are you in?’
‘Won’t we get into trouble?’
‘Rules are there to be broken,’ Hélène smiles, ‘at least by me!’ And how she bets other people are breaking them too right then, convinced as Hélène is that Berger employs himself, as they speak, probably more playing (with his willy) than praying.
‘I’m in enough trouble as things are.’ Marie is thinking about her skiing, her skirt and Prudence’s unwelcome mulishness to mend her, as if she had much wrong in her.
‘What do you mean?’ Martine can’t wait to know what trouble Marie is in.
‘Nothing.’
‘We need to get out of here, into the real world,’ Hélène has a dream to sell, ‘down the bar. Buy some drinks. Dance to some music. Meet some boys...’ Martine makes a screaming face.
‘Things any normal girl is expected to do,’ she says reassuringly. ‘It’s not like we will be killing souls.’
Marie knows Hélène is right, but it’s also Marie’s belief, based on her little experience, that Hélène, her sister, Martine, are all there for a reason, that this retreat is full of girls who are either troubled or need attention because they are trouble. Can she trust them?
‘So, what happened at the caravan last year?’ she finally asks. ‘Could it happen again?’
Marie’s friends freeze.
‘The caravan was different.’ Hélène’s face turns sombre. She hadn’t expected the question. ‘We should have never been there.’
‘Fucking bastard,’ adds Martine.
‘What happened?’
‘We were a bit drunk,’ Hélène hesitates, ‘we were silly, but we should never have been put in that situation in the first place.’
‘The men were nice at first but then they were terrifying.’ Martine’s side of the story.
‘Isabelle had only acted in good faith, you know how she is,’ Hélène’s voice is down to a pensive whisper, ‘she’s such a do-
gooder at heart, nothing like them,’ she points to the door, ‘but a good-meaning person.’
‘And she’s stupid!’
‘Shut up, Martine.’
‘I mean, what world does she live in!’ Martine doesn’t shut up.
‘One where she only sees good in people.’
‘What did she do?’ Marie doesn’t understand. She didn’t expect Isabelle to be the culprit in this story.
‘She insisted on leaving the caravan,’ says Hélène, finally spilling the beans. ‘She had been talking to one of the young immigrants through a window, for over an hour, in Spanish, and claimed he had opened his soul to her and he needed her love, that we could not treat them like animals because they had gone through enough already.’
‘And then?’
‘These men had not seen women in months.’ Hélène sighs. ‘We were young, drunk. Probably looked like sluts to them.’
‘When Isabelle opened the door, it had been a trick,’ says Martine. ‘They all tried to push in and we managed to close it again but they took Isabelle.’
‘And you did not call anybody?’
‘How? By the Holy Spirit? We had been abandoned there. All we had been given was a shitty walkie-talkie the nuns never answered. And Isabelle on the other side of the door was not alarmed,’ insists Hélène, ‘not in the slightest, she insisted she would talk to them and disappeared down the camp, into another caravan.’
‘And you didn’t call anyone?’ Marie can’t believe they deserted their friend.

If the book interests you, you can request for a REVIEW COPY in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:Mari.Reiza was born in Madrid in 1973. She has worked as an investment research writer and management consultant for twenty years in London. She studied at Oxford University and lives off Portobello Road with her husband and child.Find Mari at:Twitter * Instagram

Sunday, 10 February 2019

Sohaila Abdulali was the first Indian survivor to speak out about rape. Gang-raped as a teenager in Bombay and indignant at the deafening silence on the issue in India, she wrote an article for a woman's magazine questioning how we perceive rape and rape victims. Thirty years later, she saw the story go viral in the wake of the fatal 2012 Delhi rape and the global outcry that followed.
Writing from the viewpoint of a survivor, writer, counsellor and activist, and drawing on three decades of grappling with the issue personally and professionally and her work with hundreds of survivors, Sohaila Abdulali looks at what we-women, men, politicians, teachers, writers, sex workers, feminists, sages, mansplainers, victims and families-think about rape and what we say.
She also explores what we don't say. She asks pertinent questions: Is rape always a life-defining event? Does rape always symbolize something? Is rape worse than death? Is rape related to desire? Who gets raped? Is rape inevitable? Is one rape worse than the other? Who rapes? What is consent? How do you recover a sense of safety and joy? How do you raise sons? Who gets to judge?

What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape is a non-fiction
written by Sohaila Abdulali. The author was born in Mumbai. She has a BA in
economics and sociology from Brandeis University and an MA in communication
from Stanford University. She is the author of two novels as well as several
children’s books and short stories. She lives in New York with her family.

The author is the first Indian survivor who spoke about
being gang-raped in an article for a women’s magazine, where she wrote about
how the society has a problematic view for rape victims. The article was hailed
in certain sections of the society but didn’t reach to a larger reader base but
that changed after the 2012 Delhi rape case, as her article resurfaced she was
dragged back to think about it. She writes about a wide range of topics of how
rape is perceived by people across the world, the “Me Too” movement, how power
is at the center of most of the evils & how we can start to eradicate such atrocities completely. Get the book here,

When this book came out, the first thing which struck me was
its title. Many authors have written about rape but mostly shied away from
making a clear indication through the title what the book is about. As I
started to read this book, the author immediately captured my attention by
mentioning the problem in detail but also not letting it overshadow her life.
The author talked about the trauma that follows, the different kinds of judgments
that are passed onto the survivor & how we need to have a ground level
change in order to change the perception altogether. The sensitivity with which
the book has been written made me respect this piece of literature even more. An
important narrative along with the personal stories of many makes it a special
read. Totally recommended.

Monday, 4 February 2019

A wealthy arts patron receives a wrongly delivered letter at her secret address in Kensington. Her therapist recognises the intended recipient immediately, leading her into the hands of a defeated composer she will, together with her sweetest accomplice, help back into music. A passionate rendition of human resilience.

About the SettingThere are three main settings. First, Ivanka's secret Kensington flat where she weekly receives her massage therapist Fer. She has instructed her doctor to send any correspondence to this address, helping her channel misery away from her everyday life. Second, a ruinous local mansion where Maria has caged himself, confined to the largest of its rooms, a boundless nest with a floor of sand and a central shiny black grand piano. Finally, a sophisticated high-class London Mexican restaurant resembling a theatre set where guests can pick a character and live only the fun parts. Here Ivanka regularly meets and plots with playfellow and long-life confidant Igor.Meet IvankaIvanka is a beautiful young woman born in Saint Petersburg, wedded to rich banker Alexey. But their marriage has only given birth to a story of misuse of wealth and human limitation. He doesn’t like losers. Neither does she. She couldn’t stomach grievers orbiting around them if her sorry news became public. It’s impossible to be naturally kind or forgiving with her pain, but in Maria she has seen something precious. She wants to bring it out in him though not the way Alexey did in her... After all, was she not once the most wonderful music promoter, a genius in seeking talent? Meet FerFer is slim as a river reed, looks so innocent-pretty despite his cut-rate-dental teeth and wobbly eyes always alert to never miss anything, so gay in his hideous rainbow shirt. He has been hired by Ivanka for his osteopathy services alone, yet has from day one committed himself to deliver much more, channeling a constant flow of psychic vigour to every corner of her system in peril. He's drawn to her talk of Igor even if he doesn't understand who he is. He's full of childish excitement about Maria he recognizes as a musician in a popular band when he was growing up in Italy. Very few people seem to afford Fer a chance other than for what they want for themselves, but he knows Ivanka is his chance, that something in her will make things happen for him.Meet MariaA blue-eyed Viking. He looks like a haunted criminal under a witness protection program, a man who would slaughter, skin and bake your family dog, a man you don’t want to be telling you what he has down on his life tally... and what’s with all his leather neck chains and charms unable to hide his prominent Adam’s apple? The sight of him almost immediately wins Ivanka over. His mind has remained full of an old flame, of the grief of living with someone who’s not there, who had once sworn she didn’t mind him not being like other people and had him dream of fathering mermaids, of living under a waterfall. How could he ever get over that?Meet IgorIvanka's prince. She finds him irresistible in a motherly way. She always did, since she was fourteen and he was a little boy and they were constantly bonding over one activity or another she set out for him in Moscow, when she first arrived from Saint Petersburg. Igor's a son of a famous actress and director, has tried and failed to follow in his father's steps. And he's wanted back in Moscow by his hysterically resentful, erotically hyper-charged Cuban ex-lover (married to an old Russian princess he has duped) who has offered Igor his last opportunity to rehabilitate their shared history or else...Igor can’t go back to Moscow. He can't ‘holiday’ around sad corners of the continent indefinitely either, like a fugitive. He’s stuck in a bad situation, one that would easily call for him to open a bottle of port every night and weep over his life, which he indeed does, repeatedly. He needs to secure work in London just to be safe. He needs Ivanka. And he would do anything to have her happy; he owes her for old times’ sake...

If the book interests you, you can request for aREVIEW COPYin exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:Mari.Reiza was born in Madrid in 1973. She has worked as an investment research writer and management consultant for twenty years in London. She studied at Oxford University and lives off Portobello Road with her husband and child.Find Mari at:Twitter * Instagram

A few months into my marriage, I discovered my husband in my best friend’s bed.

Well, guess what? You made me one heck of a survivor! The joke's on you.

Now this ‘hot’ Doctor you sent my way-the one who moved in next door to my stepbrother--don’t think I will be fooled by his charm like everyone else who is eating out of his hand.

His smart quips, teasing words and piercing gazes do not scare me. I see him for the man because of whom I experienced several ‘firsts’--my first accident, my first ride in an ambulance, and not proud to say it, but my first arrest!

I may not be able to get even with you Life, but I will get even with the Doc! It should be easy for he does have a habit of popping up wherever I go.

Yours insincerely,

Danika

It would be great if you can add this book to your TBR

Varsha Dixit, the best selling author of several successful contemporary romance and mystery books. Her debut book, Right Fit Wrong Shoe was a national bestseller for the year 2010. Varsha was a part of the Indian Television Industry and has worked as an assistant director and an online editor. She considers herself a dreamer who thinks deep but writes light. Even though creativity is gender-free, Varsha feels blessed and enriched to be a woman. Currently, with her family, Varsha resides in CA, USA.